Heroine Sheiks
| The Heroine Sheiks | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City, United States |
| Genres | Noise rock |
| Years active | 1999–2006 |
| Labels | Amphetamine Reptile, Reptilian, Rubric |
| Associated acts | Animal Chin, Cows, Crown Heights, Five Dollar Priest, Grand Mal, Hammerhead, The High Llamas, Kill Sadie, Lubricated Goat, More RAM, Nova Express, Ouija Radio, Sixteen Deluxe, Skin, Stark, The Stereo, The Stinky Puffs, STNNNG, Sulfur, Swans, The Tin Horns |
| Website | www |
| Past members | J Bryan Bowden Creighton Chamberlain Eric Eble John Fell Scott Hill Sarah Huska Rob Kimball Jesse Kwakenat George Porfiris Eric Robel Martin Ros Paul Sanders Shannon Selberg Norman Westberg Bruce Wuollet |
The Heroine Sheiks were a New York-based Noise Rock band until early 2006, when the band called it quits. It began in 1999 as a collaboration of Shannon Selberg, George Porfiris, Norman Westberg and John Fell. Selberg emerged as a major songwriter in the complete history of the band whose sound was darker and more sinister than his previous work in The Cows. With multiple references to the writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline, the band explored a thematic quality of black comedy.
The initial lineup of Selberg, Porfiris, Westberg, and J Bryan Bowden recorded the first single on Amphetamine Reptile records titled "Heroine Sheiks". The release included the songs "We are the", "Let's Fight" and "Swedish Fly". The band received good support from the local NYC underground rock scene and prompted a full length release by Reptilian Records.
Rape on the Installment Plan is considered an art/noise rock masterpiece by critics and fans alike. The record was released on white vinyl and CD. The record saw the arrival of veteran drummer John Fell thus completing the talent ridden lineup. The buzz surrounding Heroine Sheiks at that point was huge due to the combination of Selberg, Westberg, Fell, and Porfiris who had done time in bands like Swans, The Cows, China Shop, Kelly Township, Foetus, Richard Hell, Miami Sound Machine, and Ultra Bide to name a few. During live shows of this period Scott Hill was added to the lineup to perform keyboard duties, he was known for his periodic dancing between keyboard parts and provided some comedy relief as Selberg's performance was menacing, confrontational and often purposely bizarre.
In 2001 bass player George Porfiris left the band and Eric Eble joined. The band signed to Rubric Records and recorded the single "Best Enemies/Oucha" and eventually the album Siamese Pipe. The record was a solid sophomoric release, but received mixed reviews. Fan favorite songs "Army Brat", "My Boss" and "Mas Suicide" are included. The production on Siamese was cleaner and had more of a standard mix next to Rape, but the successful formula of Selberg's toy keyboard and Westberg's signature guitar playing is very pronounced. Overall the rhythm section became heavier and tighter with greater complexity in the writing and arrangements. The band periodically toured throughout this period and created a solid fan base across the US. For live shows keyboards were filled in by both Scott Hill and newcomer Creighton Chamberlain.
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Wikipedia